Artist: TOOL
Album: AENIMA (CD)

Year: 1996
EAN/UPS: 828765364423
Media type: CD

After Justin Chancellor came on board, recording of the already-begun Aenima continued. The band enlisted the help of producer David Bottrill, who had produced some of King Crimson's albums while Jones collaborated with Cam de Leon to create Aenima's (later Grammy-nominated) artwork. The album was released in October 1996.

Satirist Bill Hicks had been an inspiration for the band and is noted as such in the liner notes of Undertow. Two-and-a-half years prior to the release of Aenima Bill Hicks died, and the album is dedicated to his memory. The band intended to raise awareness about Hicks' material and ideas, because they felt that they "were resonating similar concepts." In particular, Aenima's final track "Third Eye", is preceded by a clip of Hicks' performances, and both the lenticular casing of the Aenima CD packaging as well as the chorus of the title track "Aenema" make reference to a sketch off Hicks' Arizona Bay, where he contemplates the idea of California falling into the Pacific Ocean. Eventually, "Aenema" would win Tool their first Grammy Award.

The first single from the album was "Stinkfist", which had difficulty gaining airplay, and was shortened by radio programmers. Additionally, MTV renamed the music video of "Stinkfist" to "Track #1" due to offensive connotations, and the lyrics of the song were altered. Responding to fan complaints of censorship, Matt Pinfield, the host of MTV's 120 Minutes, expressed regrets by waving his fist in front of his face on air while explaining the reason for the name change as he introduced the video.

A tour began in October 1996, only two weeks after Aenima's release. Following numerous appearances in the United States and Europe, Tool headed for Australia in late March 1997.

TRACKLIST:

"Stinkfist" (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D'Amour) – 5:09
"Eulogy" (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D'Amour) – 8:25
"H." – 6:07
"Useful Idiot" – 0:38
"Forty-Six & 2" – 6:02
"Message To Harry Manback" – 1:53
"Hooker With A Penis" – 4:31
"Intermission" – 0:56
"jimmy" – 5:22
"Die Eier Von Satan" – 2:16
"Pushit" (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D'Amour) – 9:55
"Cesaro Summability" – 1:26
"Жnema" (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D'Amour) – 6:37
"(-) Ions" – 3:58
"Third Eye" (Keenan/Jones/Carey/Chancellor/Hicks) – 13:47

LINE-UP:

Justin Chancellor – Bass
Danny Carey – Drums and Percussion
Adam Jones – Guitar, Producer, Art Direction
Maynard James Keenan – Vocals